Dino's Dilemma
by Tigerlily06
Summary: After a grueling assignment Dino returns to London only to be forced into making an unpleasant decision.
1. Dog and Pony Show

Fandom: Proof of Life (General Series)  
Characters: Terry Thorne and Dino  
Prompt: 026 Teammates  
Title: Dog and Pony Show  
Word Count: 956  
Summary: Dino is having a bad day. He is forced to be paraded about to woo more investors.  
Dino doesn't have a Christian name in the movie, so me and a friend came up with one for him. He doesn't like it, but he has learned to deal with it...lol  
Author's Notes: Don't own Terry or Dino and more's the pity. They are a fun couple of blokes to have around. Not making any money off of this, so Warner Bros can sic their lawyers on someone else.

Dino was not a happy man. He had arrived in London hours before from completing a grueling assignment with one desire in mind. He had wanted to sleep for a week in a proper bed, get drunk and then sleep for another week. That desire had been dashed by his flat mate once he had passed through baggage claim.

"Are you jerking my chain, Terry?" he has asked on the ride into the city.

"Would I do that, mate?"

"In a heartbeat."

"Not this time," Terry had said with undue seriousness. "Kincaid was so thankful to have his daughter returned safely that he mentioned to Ian something about new investors and..."

"And thus we have tonight's dog and pony show," Dino had finished for Terry.

&/&/&

Luthan Risk had rented one of the nicer Thames ferries for the soiree. Everyone was having a good time, except Dino. Thanks to Terry's warning, he was semi-prepared to play his part. He still wanted to slowly strangle his boss, but valued his freedom too much, so he performed and escaped when it was feasible.

Now, he was safely hidden from the revelers that buzzed about the ferry enjoying the party. He leaned on the railing of the second deck studying the brackish water as it flowed pass the boat.

He silently puffed on a cigarette telling himself that he needed to quit, but knowing he wouldn't til he really had to. He would have killed for a drink stronger than the  
champagne flowing on the upper deck.

The slight evening breeze ruffled his reddish-gold hair and brought to him a hint of the sea that was miles downstream. He disliked having to dress up, and it had done nothing to improve his already rotten mood, so he decided to make himself comfortable.

He finished off the cigarette tossing the butt out into the river. He stood up and shrugged out of his suit jacket. He laid it on a chair behind him before reaching up to loosen his tie and unbutton the top two buttons of his green dress shirt.

He lit up another cigarette and resumed his study of the river.

&/&/&

"The current is too strong in this part of the river, mate," an Aussie accented voice broke into Dino's thoughts.

Dino turned his head slightly and regarded the person who dared to seek him out and brave his surly mood. Only Terry Throne would do something so potentially dangerous.

"Pity," he remarked with undue sarcasm. He finished the cigarette and flicked the butt into the growing darkness. "A relaxing swim would have been nice."

"I'm not certain I would like to see you get arrested for indecent exposure," Terry quipped. His warped Aussie sense of humor was in full force.

"Might have been the perfect ending to this lousy evening," Dino countered. His attention was turned outward again as he idly studied the buildings on the bank as the boat slowly traveled down river toward Greenwich. "Star employee of the highly respected kidnap and ransom firm Luthan Risk arrested this evening for skinny dipping in the Thames."

The thought of Dino's bare-arsed naked pic being splashed across the morning papers had Terry shaking his head in bemusement. "You are in rare form tonight, Tracy."

"Shout it off the rooftops, why don't you, Terrence," Dino growled. He never liked his Christian name anymore than Terry liked his. He silently rued the day his mother had become a Spencer Tracy fan.

"Here," Terry said, giving Dino's arm a gentle nudge. Dino's surliness didn't faze him because he knew his friend was literally dead on his feet. "Get this in ya."

Dino accepted the tumbler and took a sip. The whiskey burned a path down his throat and washed the sour taste that the current dog and pony show had left in his mouth. "When did you take up mind reading?"

"When I started working with you," Terry replied. He leaned on the railing facing inward, so he could keep a weathered eye on his friend's mood. "By the way, Ian was looking for you awhile ago."

"Ian can go fuck himself with a very sharp object," Dino muttered. "I'm tired of being paraded about like some prized beast."

"Fair dinkum," Terry agreed.

They lapsed into a companionable silence letting the noise of the party flow over them.

&/&/&

"Gentlemen," Ian Harvey greeted them as they slipped into the flow of revelers leaving the boat.

"Ian," Dino replied in false politeness.

"I hope you had a pleasant evening."

"Just peachy," Dino drawled with a hint of mischief in his deep voice.

"Dino," Terry warned. He didn't want in the middle of another pissing match between his friend and their boss.

Dino sniffed in derision, but refrained from tossing verbal abuse on Ian's head. "It was nice, Ian," he said instead. "See you in the morning."

"Yes," Ian countered. "I, for one, will be looking forward to your report on the Kincaid case."

Dino smiled and stepped past with Terry close behind.

&/&/&

Dino glance briefly at his watch once he reached the dock. He caught Terry's eye. "If we hurry, pal," he remarked with a sly grin. "We can catch the last part of happy hour at the Muddy Duck."

"You heard, Ian, mate," Terry cautioned. "You have a report to give in the morning."

"It won't be the first one I've given with a hangover and it probably won't be the last," Dino philosophized as he headed for the Tube station near Big Ben removing his tie as he walked.

"Alright, mate," Terry agreed as he joined Dino in the queue. "Just to keep you out of trouble."

Dino chuckled. Trouble found him whether he was being good or not.


	2. Consequences of a Short Fuse

Title: Consequences of a Short Fuse  
Word Count: 1034  
Summary: A continuation of Dino's bad day. His judgment is second guessed and he loses his cool and resigns.  
The Kaz in the story is **kazlynh** and at the time this was written she was on holiday in Guam checking out all the scrumptious sailors in their dress whites...sigh

Dino sat in the back booth of The Muddy Duck nursing a Guinness. He had thrown his suit jacket over the back of the bench. The sleeves of his royal blue dress shirt were rolled up to his elbows. His tie was loosened and the top two buttons of his shirt were undone. A cigarette burned unattended in an ashtray as he balanced an ice pack on his right hand.

"That infamous redhead temper get the better of you again, eh?" inquired a soft, Scottish voice.

Dino looked up and smiled. "You could say that, Kaz." He wasn't surprised to see Kaz so soon after his spectacular resignation. His personal assistant was the one person besides his flat mate who could calm him down despite possessing a similar temper. "How far behind you is Terry?" he inquired.

"If we're lucky roughly ten minutes," Kaz replied as she slipped onto the bench across from Dino.

"My luck has been stretched a bit thin of late," Dino remarked with a grimace.

"What did Ian do this time?" Kaz inquired, gently. She knew that Ian Harvey was the only person at Luthan Risk that could set Dino off like a Roman candle. "Accused you of overspending again?"

Kaz studied her boss as he removed the ice pack and flexed his right hand. He winced and slapped the ice pack back in place. She noted the dark circles under his deep blue eyes, the lines etched into his forehead, the reddish five o'clock shadow along his jaw and the shagginess of his reddish-gold hair. She hadn't seen him look so rough in months.

"Just being his usual 'tactful' self," Dino elaborated without giving anything away. He took a sip from his glass and grimaced. Warm Guinness just wasn't his thing, so he pushed the glass aside.

Kaz smiled. "Would you like a real drink?"

"It's too early for mead, luv," said Terry as he joined them. He sat down next to Kaz since Dino looked like he was comfortable hogging the other bench.

"It's never too early for mead," Kaz retorted with a sly grin. "Just certain people can't handle it."

"Hrumph!" was Terry's only comment.

Dino chuckled. He crushed out the unsmoked cigarette. "She's got your number, don't she, pal?"

&/&/&

"Dino?" Kaz inquired once she sent Terry to buy the first round. She flipped a curl of her red hair out of her face in an impatient gesture. "What really happened?"

Dino leaned his head back against the bench and closed his eyes. His head and his hand pounded in time with his heart, and for the hundredth time he reverently wished that he hadn't drank so much the night before. "Ian said something I didn't appreciate, so I hit him," he explained with a sigh. "He's got a fucking hard jaw."

Kaz watched him lean forward again his eyes open and pain filled. She felt the sudden need to look away since the expression on Dino's face was too much for her to take. It leaked a bone deep pain that no one should ever have to bear. She reached out and gave his good hand a gentle squeeze. "What did he say?" she asked, quietly.

"He implied in front of the board that I didn't do my job," Dino explained. "That I let my personal feelings cloud my judgment."

"Did you?"

"No," he replied. The flash of fire in his eyes belied the coolness of his deep voice. "Kara Inglese's death is between me and Miguel Cortez. As far as the Mexican government and the Kincaid family knows, Miguel took out Kara while I rescued Emma. End of story."

"Ian didn't like that explanation, did he?" Kaz surmised. She let go of Dino's hand when she caught sight of Terry coming back with their drinks.

"In a matter of speaking," Dino quipped. He secretly noted the look Kaz had cast Terry's way as she let go of his hand. There was something going on between those two and he found it amusing how they tried to hide it. "You know I don't like to be second guessed."

"But, you didn't have to break his jaw to prove your point, mate," Terry countered upon his return. He passed out the drinks before sitting down again.

Dino smiled. It was a very cold smile. "You aren't shedding any tears over it."

"Nary a one so far," Kaz quipped, casting a sly glance at Terry. She knew for a fact that Terry had laughed like a damn fool when he had told her what Dino had done.

"It's going to be real quiet around the office for awhile. It's a pity that I won't get to enjoy it."

"Tracy," Terry groused. Dino's snarky attitude was wearing on his already stretched thin nerves. It had taken all of his negotiating skills to keep the board members from calling the Bobbies and having Dino arrested for assault. "Give it a rest!"

"Fuck off!" Dino snarled a hint of his vicious temper showing.

"Quit acting like a bloody drongo, mate!"

"You want to take it outside?" Dino offered, tired of Terry's attempts to placate him. "Cause even with one hand I can knock you on your ass!"

"Knock it off!" Kaz snapped, slapping her hand down on the table. "If you two are going to act like Neanderthals, I'm leaving!"

Dino backed down first. He had no reason to be angry with Terry. Being in pain shortened the fuse on his temper, so he apologized. "Sorry, but I'm not fit to be around."

"No worries, mate," Terry said with a tired grin. "I know your bark is always worse than your bite."

&/&/&

Dino waited til later in the evening to go back and clean out his desk. There wasn't much to collect since he wasn't one for collecting bric-a-brac. He had spent too many years traveling light and well balanced. He placed his daughter's picture reverently in his briefcase and snapped it shut.

He took one last look around before walking out. Terry was spending the night with Kaz, so he figured he could get a few hours of sleep before his flight left in the morning.

He was going home.


End file.
